Is 7 Days enough? What would you do?

[DisTeach1]

Next year, is our last year (for a while) going during our favorite time...After Thanksgiving. My son will be in 7th grade. We are taking him out of school (flame away). We are going on the cruise first. He will miss 2 days during Thanksgiving week...No big deal...Wasted days, in my opinion. But he will miss the following 5 days. My dilemma is-I want to stay an extra day and return on a Monday. That would be one more day of school missed, but would give us 8 nights, rather than 7 nights in the World. We've never stayed less than 8. I really feel like I am cutting it short with 7, but am hesitant to take him out for an 8th day. But on the other hand, this will be our last big trip, and probably the last time with my Mom, so I want to make the most of it. Any opinions? I already know we are taking him out for sure, so that is not my dilemma, just whether to stay the extra day.

 

[Mandabella]

It's not like this is his only trip to WDW. At that age, I'd want to minimize the amount of school missed.

 

[goodeats]

One day is not going to break your vacation.

You don't know how your son will be handling junior high either. Although I suppose your area could start in 6th, our middle schools are only 7th and 8th. There's a big difference between elementary and middle school.

Personally, it sounds like a lot of missed time and I would just come back on Sunday.

 

[Heyyall]

for 10 years i missed as many as 8 or so days of school to go to disney. not as much now that im in high school, but i always make it up. i guess it depends on the student, but i've always done okay.

 

[stampinshauna]

If you are doing a cruise in addition to 7 or 8 nights, I would say 7 is enough.

It sounds like you will have a great trip no matter how long you stay.

 

[oogie boogie]

2 weeks ago we were there for 8 days. That was perfect!

 

[tinabheart]

I took my DS12 who is in middle school out for 5 days in April because the family we went with had a different spring break than us. I think that as long as you have good communication with the teachers, you know the assignments and make a good effort to have the work completed, teachers are usually ok with it.
You're a kid once, and you commented that you don't know how long it will be until the next trip - and that this may be the last trip with your mom. Go for it and enjoy- the memories will last a lifetime!

 

[The Sweetness]

My next trip (first with both kids, havent been in 5/6 yrs) will be 8 nights 8 1/2 days. We may need the extra time with a 2y old in tow. In the past I had plenty of sat/ sun only drive ups to visit 2 of the 4 majors

 

[msmayor]

I've taken my kids out of school before for Disney trips, but not at the middle school level. Once kids hit that point in our district, there are grade penalties that occur after five days out, unless 'make up days' are taken on Saturdays.

You may want to check with your district regarding the total number of days out before grades are affected; that extra day you hope to take may not make the most sense.

 

[boomhauer]

I don't know - I used to miss the maximum amount of time in school that was allowed, and it never affected me adversely. Granted, I wasn't a straight A student, but that wasn't because I didn't understand the material - I was just lazy.

 

[Tissa]

I don't think you'll feel shorted only staying 7 nights instead of 8. Another day missed of school is another day of make up work.

 

[DisTeach1]

Actually, our district has something called Independent Study, where you sign your child out for a length of time, they complete work, and they do that instead of what they missed in school. I wouldn't do this in high school, but since he is already in middle school, I'm thinking the independent study won't be too bad. Just wanted thoughts...I really feel cheated going for seven days! And yes, it will be our last off season trip. By then, he will be in high school and we will be limited to summers. My Mom can't go in the summer...She can't deal with heat at all. I'm still debating, I have time to think about it. I know the two days he's missing at Thanksgiving are no big deal, so he will miss the 5 days after that, and maybe 1 extra day.

 

[luvmy2sams]

I'd book the extra day. He's only missing 5 non-fluff school days, and it sounds like he's handled it well in the past. As long as your son is on board, I wouldn't hesitate to have that little extra bit of family time in Disney.

 

[KilleriMac17]

Only you know your son, and your school system, if its ok with them, and he can handle the makeup work, then there shouldn't be any problems, and also ignore all the judgemental type people that try to tell insinuate how bad you are for not following their rules or advice/flames.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I would keep it the way you have it.

 

[ch261]

My son is in the gifted program in 5th grade at his school. His teachers were all fine with him missing 5 days of school this December. However, I had no idea the amount of work he would have to make up. It was way more than I'd expected. Truthfully, I would think twice before doing it again. It was a wonderful trip, but the amount of work he had to make up almost ruined it afterwards. Blech. I hope you don't have the same experience.

 

[DisTeach1]

That's exactly the word I was looking for-Fluff days! The two before Thanksgiving are "fluff", so he will miss 5 regular days.

 

[Aalore]

I'm actually student teaching so I know that if a student were to miss a week of class it would be a lot of makeup work. They do so much in one day I can't imagine a weeks worth of work!

 

[huskies90]

I have jumped in on this argument many times and I have supported taking kids out of school and done it myself the last two years. However, this year, with my daughter in 4th grade, it was a bit much. My daughter is an EXCELLENT student and although she got through it OK, it was much easier last year. And I will not be doing it again next year as she moves to middle school in 5th grade in our town. Basically, the more days you are out and the older your kid, the harder it is exponentially. In your case you are debating 7 days and 8 days. That shouldn’t even be a debate. A 7 day vacation plus the cruise is more than enough. Personally, I think you would be doing your son a favor coming back on the weekend. So, take him out of school but don’t go overboard…And of course, have a great time!!